hello! firstly we are all alive- (john nearly did die but he just has a cold- more on that later!) so we are in cairns, a gorgeous city which seems more like a friendly town. it is our final destination on the oz bus, sad times- its nearly all over before phase two of our travels takes us off to asia. so since we last blogged, we have mostly been chilling out in some pretty cool places. magnetic island is a short ferry ride from the mainland and the hostel was more like a little holiday resort, so we spent our days sunbathing by the pool and drinking all night at the bar. we had a fun group of travellers with us from airlie beach, its great when you stay with the same group for a little while and get to know different characters, but always sad to say goodbye!

i had my stitches out on the island, which went well, despite the sharp metal instrument used to gorge aweay the scab before pulling out the last stich which had buried itself! i know you are all loving the gory details and pictures of my knee! time as well to ease off of the crutches which was such a relief, the bloody things were driving us all mad! the knee now, apart from a bit of oozing is doing ok.

next was mission beach, the number one place to skydive in oz, and home to a brilliant little friendly hostel which hosted a 'bad taste' night, in which, ever the resourceful backpackers, we created spectacular costumes! we used the legs from the jackets we stole from the scootering company as leggins for john and sam, and a hot little waistcoat and skirt combo for myself and liz. was so much fun to dress up again, john of course revelled in it as he could cover up his crotch with yet another bin liner! he really is working the recycled look out here, i think it mainly is to do with the spandex look he loves! another chilled out night was spent with a fresh-just-caught-from-the-reef fish bbq, most delicious, follwed by goon (we have finally relented and cannot drink another drop, who would have though that could happen, especially to me and john!) and a bonfire guitar sing-along on the beach. well chilled dude!

time for our final bus, which stopped at a crocodile farm, so cool! the keepers teased the crocs, huge old things, with meat and the sound their mouths make is so scary! we got to hold a baby one, but luckily they taped his mouth shut so we all still have our fingers! we saw some other animals, birds and kangaroos, one with a joey in the pouch, so adorable. then it was back on the bus for the final leg up to sunny cairns, and the weather here has been non-stop clear skies and glorious sunshine. it was time for us to be separated from our lovely travel companion liz, who set off to phuket as soon as we arrived. it was sad but we are sure we will meet up back home as we are all missing her a lot.

the boys had their 5 day dive course all booked up, and were so excited as the set off for their first day learning the basics in the pool. i felt so proud as the trotted off with their little bags swinging! they returned full of knowledge and very hyped up for their time on the boat. after just one more day in the pool and a quick exam to check they had been listening (john?!) they were ready to live aboard a boat 3 hours out in the reef. both had the time of their lives, i think the abundance of food made sams trip! they saw nemo, beautiful big turtles, a shark feed, and of course the stunning coral and underwater caves. their instructor was a very enthusiastic japenese man called k who they loved and they made friends with the people on the course, chilling over dinner in the evenings, watching the sunset form the water, sounds lush! both have developed a real passion for diving, and i hope i can learn in thailand so i can join them in the sea!

on arrival back from the reef, after a hectic 3 days of diving, john came to the conclusion that he was suffering from decompresion sickness. ever the diva, he rushed straight to the medical centre, but in fact his sense of direction led him to cairns airport, 40 minutes in the opposite direction! arriving back at the hostel he got a bus to the doctors, where he was told he was fine. but that just was not enough! at 8 the next morning off the 3 of us went to see another doctor, who again assured john that he was top notch! he has a runny nose, and the doctor's advice was to man up and go shopping with tors for new ugg boots- oh they are so beautiful! somehow this did seem to cheer the poorly boy up! (please do not worry, he is FINE!)

with 5 days to occupy myself, and legs that i could walk on, the sensible, and i think only option was to go for some retail therapy. shopping! i headed into town and splashed out on a new camera, a state of the art underwater jobby, seeing as i had saved money not skydiving and diving, i thought i deserved a treat! i enjoyed my days hanging out at the lagoon, reading and listening to the ipod and testing out my new camera! it was fab because most people finish their trip in cairns so i was able to arrange to see lots of friends from up the east coast to sunbathe, do lunch and then party! most evenings i went out, the nightlife is great here, so dont worry, i havnt been missing out on a thing! i even won a competition in a bar, me and this guy james had to run around collecting different items from the crowd, beofre displaying an array of sexual positions and finally i had to swap clothes wih someone in the bar. we were ultra speedy and won free drinks and a jungle swing, which i gave to sam to do today, and he had a wicked time, harnessed up before being catapulted through the trees!

last night was a brilliant night, all 3 of us got very merry and sam even entered the mr backpacker competition, stripping down to his boxers to many-a shrill scream from the lady crowd! out of the 4 finalists, we had 3 from our group of friends, but in a harsh and wrong call, the other guy won. however, we were immensly entertained and have some great shots of sam in all his glory! we even bumped into johns doctor, who seemed happy to see that john was alive and well anmd i even had a little dance with him-just to thank him for the impecible care!

cairns has been a great finish to australia, the lagoon is stunning, and for the next couple of days we are going to chill before the hustle and bustle of thailand begins and say goodbye to our remaining pals.

tonight we are satying in at our hostel for a few card games as tomorrow is my chance to see the reef, keeping dry on a glass bottomed boat, i cant wait! we are also heading to cape tribulation, the only place where the 2 world heritage sights meet: the daintree rainforest and the great barrier reef. how posh!

saturday we are up earlylish to fly first to sydney then on to bangkok, woohhoo!

sorry again for the lack of blogging, we do love and miss you all it has just been another lot of busy days, and when the sun is out a sweaty internet cafe isnt always first port of call! we will try our best to get some more pictures up soon.

lots of love, tors john and sam xxx